The Legend of Zelda: Aftermath
by RoseRedHoofbeats
Summary: Semi A/U post-Ocarina fic. Link and Zelda rebuild Hyrule, with a little help from some familiar faces.
1. Chapter 1

_Alternate _Ocarina of Time_ ending where Zelda isn't holding the Idiot Ball and sends Link back in time. The Sages take Ganon and send him to the Hylian equivalent of the Chamber of Wonders. You might think Zelda is a little out of character, but the woman's been hiding from Ganon as a male martial artist and mage for seven years. I really doubt the princess training and decorum has held up very well. A lot of the supporting characters are fleshed out as well. You'll also notice Talon got a very large upgrade in the brains department.  
I always held that while Link was "asleep" for seven years, he was in a sort of Matrixy-type training ground, where he was conscious and aware of what was going on- but he had to be kept safe from Ganondorf, some place where he wouldn't be discovered. As a general rule, people don't wake up from seven year comas with the muscle mass to stand under their own power, let alone swing swords. What would that have been like?  
So basically I tweaked stuff so I could more easily make Zelink happen, in order to appease the ravenous plot bunny that took hold. Blame my stepkids, they made me get them a Wii and I got to play the video game that WAS my childhood again._

Link walked to Ganon and shoved with all his might. As he fell to the ground, he grabbed Link's tunic with a snarl.

"This isn't over, _boy."_

Link grabbed his sword and, stepping on Ganon's neck, pulled it out.

"Yes it is," Link spat. Ganon reached for him when the room exploded in light and Link fell back, stunned. He heard Raru's voice- Saria, Darunia, Ruto, Impa, Nabooru... and then he heard Ganondorf's scream and the ground seemed to fall away beneath him.

When he awoke, he was lying in Hyrule's Castle courtyard. He struggled to his feet and saw his Princess walking towards him on his horse.

"Are you okay?" he asked once he reached her.

"Compared to you, I'm fine," Zelda answered, dismounting. "You're limping."

"I wonder why," Link muttered. Epona walked up and nuzzled his hand. Link leaned gratefully against her strong, warm neck and tried to ignore his throbbing shoulder and various other gashes.

"So now what do we do?"

"We sleep," Link replied, tugging on Epona's reins so she'd go down to her knees. She obeyed, and held onto her mane as he hauled himself into her saddle. "And then we eat." He offered his good arm to Zelda to help her up and she just grabbed the saddle and hauled herself up in front of him, taking the reins. "And then we sleep some more. There might be baths somewhere in there. If we're lucky."

"Right. Sounds like a plan. And... where, exactly, are we doing this sleeping and eating and possibly bathing?"

"Some place flat, some place cheap, and some place warm."

"And, given that my castle was just leveled to the ground and the town's deserted, those places would be...?"

"I have no idea. Possibly in my imagination. I don't care. Very soon, I am going to pass out and you can figure it out. Wake me up when you get to the part with the food." In normal circumstances he'd be more appreciative of the fact that he had his arms wrapped around Zelda and that her clothing wasn't entirely whole. It was a colossal testament to how exhausted he was that he was more grateful that she was steering and he wasn't than either of those facts. He swayed with the motion of the horse's gait and closed his eyes, resting his head on her shoulder.

"The ranch?"

"Sure. Why not."

"Are you going to make it or am I going to have to tie you to the saddle?"

"I'll be fine. Epona won't let me fall. Just steer, and- for the love of Light!-" he bit off the curse, gritting his teeth "-don't go faster."

She turned to look at him and demanded, "How badly hurt are you?"

"Zelda, I-"

_"How badly."_

He sighed. "It hurts. I've had worse. I wasn't set on fire or electrocuted this time, for example. Just... go slow. I'll be fine. All things considered. It's not far."

She nudged Epona forward as much as she dared, trying not to think of Link's hands on her waist and the way he was nuzzling her neck. The fact that the nuzzling wasn't intentional wasn't helping in the slightest.

"Princess! You're alive!" Malon cried, rushing up as soon as she saw the sorrel mare. "You could see the fight from here- The lightning! We saw the castle fall- Is that-?!"

"Help me get him down," she commanded before the girl could get herself too worked up. She took Link's arm and slung it over her shoulder like a newborn calf and carried him into the house.

"Did you do it? Did it work?" Talon demanded once they were inside.

"Yes. To both," Zelda said, dismounting herself and following them into the house. Talon gently laid him down and gathered bandages and salve. Her throat closed with fear- Link wasn't moving...

"So Ganondorf has been vanquished?"

"If by vanquished you mean had a sword put through his chest after he kidnapped me, tried to steal the Triforce and had the collective power of the Seven Sages throw him into Outer Darkness, then yes." Zelda collapsed into the nearest chair with a very unroyal thump.

"Why did you come here?" Malon asked, handing Zelda a flask of water as Talon cut through Link's tunic and shirt, seeing to his wounds. Zelda didn't answer, her eyes locked on his chest and the numerous deep gashes she saw there, and the even more numerous scars...

"Zelda? Are you all right?" Malon asked. She shook her head and tried to remember the girl's question. "Surely there are others... a healer- anywhere..."

"Kakariko Village still hasn't been rebuilt after the monster of the Shadow Temple was unleashed. You were the closest... it was either this or try for that potion maker in Lake Hylia... I didn't think he'd make it that far." It took entirely too long to say that, but she couldn't seem to get words to form properly.

"You were right to bring him here," Talon said, standing. "The others aren't anything besides very painful, but this very nearly missed the artery in his arm. I'll need to fetch a healer, but it's cleaned and bound now. It can wait until I get back."

"There's an extra cot in the loft," Malon said, standing. "You can sleep upstairs. I'm sorry we don't have better-"

"It's fine," Zelda said. "I've been living as a Sheikah underground for eight years. A cot would be a dream right now."

"When I get back," Talon said, "I want to hear this story."

Zelda smiled wryly. "Bring back some drink then." Talon smiled and followed Malon out.

Zelda stood and walked to Link's side, kneeling beside him. She smoothed his sweat-soaked hair from his forehead and winced when she saw there was blood there as well. She unlaced his gauntlets, slipping them off, and then took his boots off for him. He stirred as she was easing his bloody tunic off.

"Sleep, my Hero," she whispered. "Sleep until you're ready to wake up." She stood, but he grabbed her wrist with surprising speed and strength for someone who had recently lost a large amount of blood.

"Don't go," he slurred out.

"I won't. I'm here." She hesitated, then hummed her lullaby. His eyes closed again and his breathing slowed.

"Princess? Princess. Zelda."

Zelda shrieked and leaped to her feet, groping under her pillow for the dagger she always kept there, her heart pounding.

"You're safe! It's Malon. It's okay. You're at the ranch. You brought Link here."

Zelda's chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. "Link," she repeated, shaking her head to clear it. "Link! Is he-"

"He's fine. The healer's been and gone. He's awake and he's eaten, which you should think about doing."

Zelda shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Past supper. You've been asleep for over a day."

"A _day?"_

"Yeah. Apparently defeating evil and saving the known world is tiresome."

Zelda stood and shook her skirts out. She ran her hands through her hair and cracked her knuckles, a bad habit she'd picked up from Impa. It was amazing the kind of bad habits a girl could pick up once presented with the opportunity. She took a deep breath and headed down the stairs to face Link -a fully conscious Link, anyway- as herself, as Zelda, for the first time in eight years...

Did he feel the same way? Did the friendship he'd cultivated over these long, hard months with Sheik apply to her? Did he think of her, of the promise he had made so long ago, as he made his way through those haunted, cursed temples, each more horrible than the last? Did he think about why he was doing this- that he did it because, at ten years old, he'd taken her word that he was supposed to save the world? She smiled to herself, shaking her head. Only two kids could have come up with such a reckless plan. She'd been convinced that nothing could harm her once she held the Triforce- that nothing could hold back the righteous Princess of Hyrule with the power of the Sacred Realm behind her. Nevermind that she was only ten. Nevermind that she'd sent Link on this quest.

Her reverie was over when she saw Link's face, or more to the point, the expression on it. She didn't have the time to focus on it before Link swept her into his arms and held her tightly.

"You're safe," he whispered once he released her, his hands still on her shoulders, as if he wasn't sure she'd disappear if he took them away.

"Yes, well, fortunately, not many dangers lurk under Malon's cot," she said, smiling. Maybe she wasn't the only one. Maybe there...

He smiled back. "It's just... I didn't know. I didn't know if you were safe, if you were alive. When I saw he had you..." he trailed off as Zelda's eyes filled with tears and she looked away.

"It's okay," she told him once she'd gathered herself. "It's over now. We'll stay here for a few days, and then... Then we figure it out from there."

"We'll get the word out," Talon said. "That Ganondorf's reign is over and that you're safe. You still have loyal servants in Hyrule, Princess." Link finally released her, and they sat at the table. Zelda didn't miss the limp, nor the way he favored his arm. "It won't take long for the tale of the Hero of Time to grow into legend."

Link groaned and Malon smiled. "What did you expect? We started hearing songs about you as soon as you defeated the Fire Temple. If anyone who entered the forest ever came out again, I'm relatively sure they would have started with the Forest Temple."

"Exactly what I ididn't/i want," Link muttered.

"I can send you back," Zelda said quietly, staring at her hands. Everyone fell silent and looked to her. "In time, I mean. To before this happened. Before Ganondorf."

"But then won't this happen all over again?" Malon asked.

"No," Link said, crossing his arms. "He's been sealed by the power of the Sages- even if we go back, he'll still be trapped there." He was peering at her most intently. She couldn't fathom the look on his face.

"We would be safe," Zelda assured them.

"Would..." Link trailed off and swallowed hard. "Would Saria be there?"

Zelda bit her lip, wishing she wasn't suddenly, immensely jealous. "No. She's the Sage of the Forest- none of the Sages could... could come back." She hated herself for being relieved with his face fell.

"You could have it back," Zelda forced herself to say after silence fell again. "Your childhood... the life that... that I took from you. You could have that again."

Link snorted. "The childhood that I spent as an orphan, being teased for not having a fairy and without the only friend I ever had, growing up while the rest of my people don't. Sounds marvelous."

"You shouldn't have had to do this, _any_ of this!"

_"And you shouldn't have had to,"_ Link said harshly. She looked up into his blazing blue eyes and found she couldn't speak. "We were _kids_, Zelda. Two little kids, who were supposed to save the world. It was my destiny and yours to fulfill, and that's exactly what we did. I shouldn't have had to go through this, and neither should you, but Ganondorf decided to act, and we had to do something." He walked around the table and knelt before her. "This was not your fault. YOU didn't take anything from me."

"Do you want to stay?" Zelda asked Link, not looking at him.

"Do you want me to?" he countered.

She found she couldn't answer. It would make her feel better to send him back, but would it truly serve him? Did he deserve to regain those lost years, or did he deserve to live out his life as the venerated Hero of Time?

"Yes," she whispered finally.

"Then I'm not sure what the problem is here, exactly," Malon said. "This seems pretty straightforward, if you ask me. You stay here until Link heals up while we gather support and we rebuild the castle. Easy as lyin'." She stood up and pulled Zelda to her feet. "Come help me with the horses." It was a request, but she towed the princess out by her elbow.

"Oh, are YOU in trouble," Malon told her once they were safely inside the stable.

"As opposed to the leisurely life I'm accustomed to, you mean?" Zelda snapped. "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to listen to me. I don't know why you're so keen on sending Link back to where he came from, but I know it's a foolish idea."

"How do you know?" Zelda demanded. "Do you have any idea what's he's _been_ through? What's he been through because of me? Because of what I asked him to do?"

"Yes," Malon said simply. "I have. Where do you think he came to rest after he defeated the curse on Death Mountain? Where he came between temples? Where do you think he came when he needed a friend?"

"You aren't his only friend," Zelda told her.

"No, just the only friend who didn't hide from him for two years," Malon retorted.

"What was I supposed to do?" Zelda hissed, staring Malon down. "I had to hide. I had to keep my cover-"

"I know you did. That doesn't mean he didn't spend the past two years worried sick about you."

Zelda stopped dead. "What?"

"Oh, for Heaven's sake. Haven't you seen the way that he looks at you? You're his Princess, he's your Hero, he's fought and bled and, if what the fairies say is true, even died for a couple of times for you."

"He didn't do that for me."

"The hell he didn't! He did it for you, for me, for his Kokiri, for the Gorons, for all of us. But he did it for you, because you helped him."

"_How_ in the _world_ have I _helped him?_" Zelda choked out, talking around the lump in her throat. "What have I ever given him, when he's given me and this land everything?"

"Someone to fight for," Link said simply from the door. Zelda leapt up and whirled to face him, her heart pounding. He walked to her and took her hand, as Malon quietly slipped out.

"Someone to fight for," Zelda repeated. "And that made it worth it?" she asked bitterly. "All of this? All the battles, all the wounds, the fighting, the curses, the-"

"Yes," Link cut her off. "All of it." His blue eyes met hers and they were so... so different from the eyes he'd had as a child. Could he even be happy, if she sent him back? Would she be doing little more than assuaging her own guilt?


	2. Chapter 2

_(A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I wasn't sure if I was going to leave it as a oneshot, but so long as you all want to read, I'll keep writing._

_I realized something as I was writing this and trying to think of where I wanted to go with it- I forgot everyone's FAVORITE CHARACTER from Ocarina of Time! I'm sure you'll realize who I'm talking about. Hopefully I can make her less... enthusiastic.)_

Link was dreaming.

He was back in the Forest Temple- it had seemed eerie at the time, but as he ventured through the other four temples, he'd think back on it fondly. At least in there, there had been sky. And grass. And the monsters weren't so bad... not as nearly as bad as the Shadow Temple, with their hideous Redead bodies, the whispers in the walls...

He went there looking for Saria. Not to save the world, not to beat Ganondorf- he just wanted to get Saria out of there and go home and tell everyone else, tell the Sages and the gods, and especially Princess Zelda to go hang. Sheik seemed capable enough. He could do it. Surely he could do anything he, a ten year old boy, could do.

_"Ah, but you aren't a ten year old boy, are you?"_

It shouldn't be possible to wonder if you were going crazy for talking to yourself in your own dreams, anymore than you should be able to talk to yourself in them in the first place.

And then he'd gotten to the end. Finally. He'd whirled to face Ganondorf and felt the power of the Master Sword rise in response. And he'd won. Curse it all, he'd _won_. He'd beaten him. And then Ganondorf simply.... disappeared.

_"WHERE IS SHE?"_ Link had roared, hearing nothing but laughter in the dark. And then the blue portal had appeared...

That was when he realized there was nothing left to do but this quest. That nothing, no one, would be safe, unless he won.

Most of all, he wanted to protect the forest. He didn't care if he wasn't Kokiri- it was his affinity for the same forest Saria loved that they'd become fast friends, even though he was younger than her. He wanted to save them, to protect them. And he couldn't do that unless he did the whole thing... unless he saved the world entire.

And then he'd gone to the Gorons, and met his namesake... and heard what had happened to them, and how Darunia had charged off to save his people. Same with Ruto...

The closest he'd come to really quitting was the Shadow Temple. He remembered venturing into the grave to learn the Sun Song, and his hands shaking so much he almost couldn't play it to seen the Redeads back where they belonged. He'd run straight through the acid pits rather then get too close to them. He hadn't been able to walk into a dark room for months after that. He'd known what lay beneath Kakariko Village, and as soon as he'd heard that Impa had gone in there to seal its evil power, he'd run straight back to the Temple of Time, practically dived for the pedestal and thrust the sword back in. Triforce of Courage be damned. There was courage, and then there was _stupid. _And then he remembered- something the old woman had told him... about an eye that could see the truth... down the well.

He heard a piercing scream and crashed to the floor, caught in the tangled blankets. For one horrible second he was convinced the scream had been a Redead's and he was helpless to defend himself until the very last second, until he remembered where he was. He lay on the floor, panting, and made his way out of the sheets, trying not to think of the Hero of Time being bested by bedding, and went upstairs- he knew the scream had been Zelda's.

But she was already gone.

He blinked in the darkness for a minute, wondering if he should go after her, weighing his choices. Stupidity won out, and he went into the pasture. Dawn was just starting to break over the mountains. He saw her standing at the fence, watching the horses. Malon had already turned them out for the day.

"Hey," he said softly.

"You heard me," Zelda said, not looking at him.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry I woke you." She turned away, heading back for the farmhouse, when Link grabbed her hand. She didn't pull away this time.

"It's okay," he told her. "I've had my share of nightmares."

She made an unladylike sound. "I'm sure. You don't have to make me feel better, Link."

"I'd be more worried if you _weren't_ having them. Any sane person would." He paused and said, "I was having one too. About the temples."

"The Shadow Temple?"

He smirked. "How'd you know?"

"Everyone has nightmares about the Shadow Temple. I'd assume if the threat of our mothers leaving us there when we were naughty could cause them, actually defeating the darkness within most certainly would."

"It was..." he trailed off, thinking. "It was bad."

"What was it?" He looked at her. "The monster, I mean. The one Ganondorf awakened."

"Hands. On a drum, playing it. With a sort of... body, with an eye. That I couldn't see. All I could see were the hands." He looked down and said, "I didn't sleep more than a few hours for weeks. Took me a while to move on to the next."

"You came here?"

He nodded. "I came here a lot. Went riding with Malon, sometimes for hours. Or the fishing hole in Lake Hylia. The owner there knows me, has since I was a kid."

She smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said, grinning at the memory. "I caught a ten pounder once, when I was ten."

She laughed. "I just can't picture you fishing, of all things."

"I'll take you some time."

They stood there for a moment, still watching the horses play as the morning sun eased into daybreak.

"What were you dreaming about?" he asked her, finally.

She was silent for a few moments, then said, haltingly, "The first time I made it back to the castle."

His eyes widened. "You went _back? Why?"_

"To see what I could do for the people there. It hadn't been long since- since he'd taken power. Impa and I escaped, and she and the other Sheikah disguised me. Taught me how to... to pass as one. Taught me magic and about fighting."

"I thought Impa was the last Sheikah?"

"She was, until the Royal Family needed them again. Or didn't having a nanny born of warrior-class seem like overkill to you? They come when she calls them- when they're needed."

"So you went back as Sheik. Then what?"

Her face tightened and she gripped the rail tight until her knuckles hurt. Zelda took a deep breath. "I was so stupid... I wanted to try and smuggle them out. Did you ever meet that lady who liked to brag about her puppy? In the square?"

"Yeah. The white one? I found him for her, once."

"Her name was Tatsi. She bred them for the Royal Family. My mother loved dogs. When Tatsi presented my mother with a pair for her birthday, my mother gave her the runt of their first litter back. That was her dog. I found her house first...

"I managed to get her and some of the others out. And then..." she trailed off.

"He found you."

"He found me."

"Did he know who you were? That it was you?"

"No. He never would have left me alive if he had."

"But he did."

More silence.

"Zelda?"

"And that's what I was having nightmares about." He didn't try and stop her as she turned and walked away, nodding to Talon on her way back to the farmhouse.

"So," Talon said, propping his elbows on the rail. _"That_ certainly looked awkward."

Link sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "You could say that."

"She won't tell you what happened either, huh?"

"No."

"Don't worry," Talon said, swinging the gate open and throwing the halter she was carrying over her shoulder. "She will. And come help me."

Link hopped down and followed. "And what am I helping you with?"

"You're going to hold horses while I trim hooves. And just wait." Talon slid the halter on one of the horses, and pulled his hoofpick out of his belt. "She'll talk about it soon enough. 'Specially if you're gonna stick around."

"She is, huh?" Link replied, taking the lead and absentmindedly scratching the horse's ears. And why's that?"

"'Cause she loves you."

----

"So," Malon said at dinner that night.

"So?" Link answered around a mouthful.

"What happens now?"

"In return for saving the world," he said with a flourish, "I bask in the glory and adoration due to the Hero of Time while you lesser mortals do all the dirty work." He grinned and swatted away the roll she threw at him. "If you mean what you guys have to do, I haven't the first idea."

"We rebuild," Zelda said. "We get the word out. We get people to come- carpenters, tradesmen, shopkeepers. And we take back what's ours."

_"Oh, well, that sounds simple enough,"_ a very small voice said from the corner.

"Navi!" Link jumped from his chair and shook out his hats, laughing as the little ball of light danced around him.

"I hate when he does this," Malon whispered to her father. "I thought he was out of his gourd the first time I heard him talk to her. I wonder sometimes if she really talks or if he makes it up so we don't think he's nuts for talking to himself."

_"I heard that!"_

"Navi says she heard that."

"Malon says you're crazy," she replied innocently.

"Where've you been?" Link asked, holding her up to his face.

_"Telling the Deku Sprout back home what happened. And checking on... some things..."_

"What things?"

"I see what you mean," Zelda said to Malon as Link and Navi discussed current events. "This is very disconcerting."

"What, you've never had the pleasure of hearing half the conversation Link has with his floating ball of glitter?"

"I can't say that the opportunity ever presented itself. I thought Navi just sort of... flitted around and kept him company."

"So, O Mighty Hero of Time," Malon said, "What does the fairy have to say for herself?"

"She says that she doesn't appreciate being treated as an auditory hallucination and that you should be grateful she hasn't spilled your soup in your lap." Zelda laughed- how long it had been since any of them had laughed!- "And she says the Kokiri will help us."

"What?" Zelda asked incredulously. "The Kokiri never leave the forest!"

"Well, that was my understanding too, but Navi says they can. She wouldn't say anything else, just told me not to look a gift horse in the mouth."

Malon clapped her hands together. "Oh, please tell me Mido's coming and that I get to watch you flatten him, please, it's my birthday soon!"

"I am not going to flatten someone half my size for being a jerk nine years ago, and your birthday isn't for another six months."

"Not to disparage your home, Link," Talon said, "But how exactly is a nation of children going to help?"

"A nation of children that are all over a century old and completely self-sufficient, used to creating livelihoods with their bare hands and nothing but trees, dirt, grass and more trees. There is nothing they can't do with wood and a saw and some nails."

"Oh. Well. Yes. That might come in handy."

Link didn't know until that moment it was possible for a fairy to snort. He burst at laughing at her indignant, _"Handy, indeed! What does he think we do all day, sit around and eat _bark?"

"Do you think the Gorons could help?" Zelda asked. "I think that should be our first course of action," she continued, starting to pace. "We'll need their help with the rock quarries and rebuilding the castle itself...and if we have their support, and the Kokiri, hopefully that will be enough to convince people to come back."

Link considered for a moment, "Possibly. It depends how much they'll need to rebuild themselves. I certainly ask."

Malon fixed him with a glare. "You are not anywhere near fit enough to go hauling up Death Mountain, sir."

"Okay, missy, you just go knock yourself out trying to get them to cooperate. I don't think they're much interested in Lon Lon Milk, tasty though it may be to us." He turned his attention to Zelda. "You need soldiers. Ganondorf had his sympathizers, and you'll need a military force of some kind."

"How? Who?" she asked. "Ganondorf left none alive."

"The Gerudo."

_"What?" _Zelda exclaimed.

"Hear me out. They weren't any more pleased with Ganondorf's reign than we were- and they're good fighters. They'd help us. I know it."

"But they're _Gerudo!_ They can't be governed, nor reasoned with! We've _never_ had an alliance with them!"

"They'll be grateful for the support, and for the benefit of the doubt. They were hit just as hard as we were- harder, even. Perhaps the time has come to move on from the enmity."

"History says otherwise," she snapped. "I'll be damned if I trust my life to the same race that spawned the Dark Lord."

"Your safety isn't exactly something I take lightly," Link said quietly. "You can trust me."

Zelda stopped cold at the obvious devotion in those words. Link finally stopped staring at his hands and looked at her, _just_ at her. "I wouldn't let them hurt you. I would never let anyone."

After several uncomfortable seconds, Malon raised her hand. "What exactly are you worried about Zelda?"

"They just... they're Gerudo. They-"

"Steal boyfriends?" Malon asked wickedly, eyes dancing. Link cut his eyes to her and Zelda flushed scarlet.

_"Subtle, Malon. Real subtle."_


	3. Chapter 3

_(A/N- Thanks for the reviews and favorites! I really wanted to somehow work this scene in here somehow, let me know how you think I set it up._

_In case you hadn't noticed, this fic is supposed to be fluff. The fluffiest fluffy bit of fluff to ever be fluffed. Cute and more than a little cliche. This is all good clean wish fulfillment, because I am a bored stay at home mom.)_

_"Hey! Wake up!"_

Link didn't even open his eyes as she danced around his face, flapping her wings at him. "Go 'way, Navi," he mumbled, rolling back over and shoving her back into his hat. " 'M tired."

Navi's fairy shrieks of indignation were cut off by another shriek from upstairs. Link groaned and reached for his hat, and Navi flew out. She batted at his face and he swatted at her half-heartedly.

_"You're welcome." _

Link muttered something darkly about insolent fairies and bottles and rivers. "She's not going to talk to me," he whispered, but he got out of bed and pulled his sleeveless tunic on.

_"Then why are you going to try and talk to her?"_

"Hope springs eternal. That, or I'm an idiot."

_"She has to talk eventually."_

"Oh, she does, does she? Wish you'd tell her that." He cautiously walked up the stairs, wincing as they creaked. He slowly cracked her door open, willing the hinges not to squeak, and peeked in.

"I know you're out there," a weary voice called out.

He grimaced and stepped into her room. "Does that mean you're going to talk to me and stop saying you're fine?"

"No," she said simply, avoiding looking at him, "because I am." She flicked her fingers and the shutters on the window burst open, letting in the daylight.

"This is the third night in a row you've woken up screaming, Zelda."

"I am well aware of how many nights it's been," she snapped, snatching up a brush and ripping it through her curls with more force then strictly necessary.

"I told you," Link said, walking to her and trying to sound calm and reasonable. "It's normal to be afraid-"

_"Watch out!"_

Link grabbed the brush before she could hit him with it. She yanked it back, matching his glare, and turned away as Link sighed, his blue eyes worried. He straddled the chair next to the bed and wouldn't stop looking at her.

"I am _not_ afraid."

"Be that as it may, it'd help with the nightmares if you'd talk about it."

"I'll take that into consideration," was the acid reply. "In the meantime, I'll thank you to keep your advice to yourself. I don't need you to hold my hand through this, Link."

"I think I've been through enough to have a little bit of understanding of how trauma works,_" _Link said hotly.

"You have no business trying to pry!"

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" he demanded. "What do you think I've been doing the past two years, in between trying not to get shot, stabbed, set on fire, bitten, boiled alive, or otherwise killed? Which, by the way, I was a few times!"

Zelda stood and made it two steps to the door before Link grabbed her wrists.

"Let go of me," she hissed.

"No. Not until you stop holding back."

"Do you like using that hand?"

"I think you'll have the harder time if this turns into a fight."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Or are you forgetting that I've spent the past nine years with Sheikah?"

Link blinked, and let go. She turned her back to him, and he took the chance to pin her to the wall.

"Yeah," he said, smiling thinly as Zelda's face paled then reddened. She finally looked at him and he'd never seen her so furious. "I'm sure about that. I've faced every evil you could possibly imagine. I can handle one uppity Sheikah."

Zelda narrowed her eyes, clenching her fists. Link let go before she could call his bluff.

"Just think about what I said, Zelda. Please. You don't have to go through this alone."

"No reason to drag you into it," she whispered before she slammed the door and stalked downstairs.

She made for the pasture again, kicking herself mentally for how she'd reacted. She knew Link wouldn't think less of her, she knew that he was right about talking, she just... couldn't.

Epona trotted up to her and started whuffling her pockets. Zelda laughed, and dug around for something to give her.

"Spoiled you, haven't I, silly girl?" she asked, smiling. She and Epona had spent long days and nights together, waiting for their Link to come out of every temple alive. She swore the horse was supernatural in her intelligence. She hadn't believed Link at first when he'd told her that Epona came every time he played her song- the song Malon's mother had taught her, until she'd seen him do it.

"Here you go," she murmured, rubbing the mare's face. Epona whickered and rubbed her forehead on Zelda's shoulder. She laughed and scratched her ears for her.

"Why don't you take her for a ride," Link said softly, coming up behind her. Zelda jumped, startled, and tried to slow her breathing.

"It's rude to sneak up on a person."

"Says the big bad Sheikah?" Link teased, but his smile was kind. "Go on. She's bored just sitting around here."

"You sure?"

"She won't mind. She likes you. Her tack's in the stable."

Zelda smiled back, glad he didn't seem to need an explanation. "Thanks. I'll be careful."

Link looked at her with far too much concern for Zelda's comfort and squeezed her shoulder. "Not her I'm worried about."

---

_"Time passes, people move... like a river's flow, it never ends. A childish mind will turn into noble ambition. Young love will become deep affection..."_

That's what she had said as Sheik, before she taught Link the Serenade of Water. She was deep in thought as she ambled along, circling Lon Lon Ranch. She'd galloped Epona hard, the mare eagerly leaping over fences and gates. Sweat dripped into her eyes, stinging. She stopped to wipe her face and stare at the horizon. She would never get used to not seeing her castle's battlements over the walls. Epona pulled the reins out of her hands to graze, and Zelda let her, knowing she'd have a bit caked with green slime to clean later.

Had he known, then, that she loved him? That she wasn't doing this out of a sense of duty or even friendship but latent attraction?

Impa had suspected. When she'd begged to leave the Sheikah stronghold and go to him, after the long seven years were over. Impa had warned her of being too optimistic- the odds of Link surviving just the long sleep the Master Sword had put him in were slim, much less what he would have to face once he awoke. But Zelda had known he would- that they would succeed. She'd dreamed- of him, of the temples, of the battle with Ganondorf for her castle, her land- their land. She'd seen the part she would play- teaching him, guiding him, lighting his path. All of them had come to pass. She thought back to that first dream- of a boy from the forest...

_"Even if he survives this, there's no hope for the two of you," Impa told her severely. She knew Zelda's motives for insisting to go to the Hero were not as pure as she pretended.  
_

_"Who says I need hope?"_

Epona snorted, her head flying, jolting Zelda and almost unseating her as she shied. A Keese flapped towards her, shrieking. Zelda flicked the daggers she kept in hidden sheaths on her forearms out, and threw it, hitting her mark perfectly.

"Harder time in a fight," she snorted, dismounting and finding her blade to clean it. "Right."

Epona snorted again. "What, you don't think so?" she asked, turning her back towards the ranch. "Well, of course you'd take his side."

Link met her at the entrance, absentmindedly throwing rocks. She dismounted and walked over to him.

"You sure that's the best thing for someone who nearly had his arm sliced off?"

"I'm fine," he mimicked her, then laughed when she made a face. "No, really, it's just stiff. Healer did good work." He stood and took Epona's reins, flicking the green foam off her muzzle. "Someone's been eating."

"I'll clean it. I was just... thinking."

"Slow process, is it?" he chided. "Don't worry about it. Not the first time she's gotten away with that." They headed up the winding path back to the stables. "What were you thinking about?"

"The Water Temple." It wasn't exactly a lie. The Water Temple had been involved. Somewhat. Peripherally.

He groaned. "Very, very close second to the Shadow Temple in terms of worst place I've ever been." He paused and then said, "You ever notice how I seem to do all the nostalgic waxing?"

"Ask different questions and we'll see," she said. He smiled a bit -that at least was encouraging- and thought for a moment.

"What was it like being a Sheikah?"

"You mean as opposed to being a princess?"

"As opposed to being any other being that can't disappear on a moment's notice or write songs that have magical powers."

She sighed. "Is this is an I answer one, you answer one sort of deal?"

"It's a two friends talking about their lives sort of deal."

She loosened the tie holding hair back and shook it out. "It beat being a princess by a long shot."

"Really?"

"Well, parts of it. The sleeping on rock floors and never having enough to eat and constantly being afraid for my life wasn't. But... actually _being_ Sheikah? Do you have any idea how vexing it is to be a princess with a magical gift no one will let you use, knowing the world you know and everyone you love in it is going to end at any moment, helpless to do anything about it?"

"No, but I would imagine very."

"As a Sheikah-"

"A _male_ Sheikah, no less," Link remarked.

She ignored that. "I could do so much. Impa could finally teach me all she knew, which is quite a lot, mind you. The other Sheikah didn't know who I was, I just faded into the background as much as possible."

"How did you do it?"

"I couldn't tell you."

"Zelda-"

"No, really, I couldn't. I have no idea what Impa did. The last thing I remembered was throwing you the Ocarina of Time, and then I woke up with a flat chest and new clothes." She smiled wistfully. "I could do things, help people. I saved people. No one knowing who I was, no one telling me to walk slowly, small steps, shoulders back, hands folded. Finally being taken seriously. Getting to do magic. Learning how to fight."

"So how good _are_ you?"

"I beat Impa."

"Seriously?"

"Well, one bout out of several dozen," she admitted, and they laughed.

"I'm pretty sure I could take you in a sword fight."

"And I'm pretty sure I could take you in a handfight."

"I'd still beat you."

"If all my weapons were taken, lost, or broken, I can still protect myself," she retorted once they were back in the stable. Link had no reply to that.

"So what was so bad about the Water Temple?" she asked as she slid the saddle off Epona's back.

"Dark Link."

She dropped the saddle on the rail with a thump. "...What?"

"I'll tell you about my worst nightmare when you tell me yours," he said, face emotionless as he brushed Epona.

---

"Zelda, you won't believe what we heard!" Malon positively bounced when they returned. "Dad, tell her!"

Talon was grinning from ear to ear. "You should sit."

Zelda pulled a chair out. "What is this about?"

"We've had word," Malon said, drawing it out, "from your brother."

Zelda's jaw dropped, her eyes wide. "My- my brother? He's alive?"

"To all appearances," Malon told her. "Dad was delivering milk to Kakariko Village, seeing if there was anything they needed, and the villagers told him that he'd heard that Prince Devin was alive, somewhere atop Death Mountain, past Goron City."

"I was telling them of Ganondorf's defeat, at the hands of none other than our beloved Princess and the Hero of Time. People have already noticed the pall over the town is gone- people talking about moving back."

"You didn't tell them we're _here_, did you?" Link exclaimed.

"Easy, there, I'm not that stupid. As far as the townsfolk are concerned you've ascended into the heavens and are gazing down on us from afar."

"It's a trap," Link said. "Or it might be a trap. To try and goad Zelda out of hiding."

"That it may," Malon conceded. "But Zelda managed to survive, didn't she?"

"I should go," Link said. "See what's going on."

"You should sit, because your shoulder's not healed yet," Malon told him. "Like I told you, you are in no condition to go hauling up Death Mountain."

"I don't like the idea of waiting..." Zelda said worriedly.

"It'll be another day, two at the most," Link assured her. "It's not my sword arm."

"I'm going with you."

"Zelda..." Link started, but stopped when she stood up and started to glare. "Okay. Two days. We're leaving."


End file.
